Poured from a hilarious bottle labeled with a gorilla trying to wear a shark as pants.. About what you'd expect from the nutcases at Three Floyds and De Struise. The appearance.. Not great. A murky brown with a good amount of grainy sediment.. Whatever.. Let's get to it.

The smell is sweet, yet bitter. You get a good amount of hoppy malt, and you can sense that this has origins in Belgium with a twist from a brewery filled with hop-head maniacs. I was worried that this beer was going to taste unpleasant.

I was wrong. The taste is wonderful. The 120 IBUs is masked beautifully behind the citrusy, sweet Belgian yeast. It's not drinkable in mass quantities by any means, but it's not terribly heavy either. The flavor is strong, and it lasts for minutes after each sip. Finishes with hop bitterness and.. is that chocolate?

Shark Pants is a very grungy looking beer, attributed partly to the fact that its sediment is so sludgy the bottom of the bottle looks like muddy sand. Although I managed to keep most of that muck out, this entirely flat, brown leather-coloured beer is sullied to the point of opacity.

The aroma is no less gritty than that putrid appearance. Very dulled notes of grapefruit rind and pine resin are pretty much all the supposed 'most hoppy India Pale Ale ever produced in Belgium' has to show for itself. Maybe dried mango or papaya slices too if you sniff really hard.

By this point, it's no surprise to find that the taste is underwhelming. Given the oxidized, dried fruit flavours I'd be tempted to write this off as a stale bottle, but the brewery assures me I have a year and four months yet before that happens (an absolutely ridiculous estimate in my opinion). Speaking of absurd, how does a "Belgian" IPA not have a trace of Belgian yeast? I'm confused. What then makes it Belgian (especially since half its brewers are American)?

The flavour offers gooey toffee-ish malt notes above all else. Pine resin is a major contributor too but other hop-derived flavours virtually don't register; like the independent candidates in most elections, their share of the pie is too marginal to be worth reporting. The mouthfeel is considerably neutral and the claim of 300 IBUs turns out more foolish even than impractical.

Shark Pants has a funny label, but beyond that it's probably the worst beer either Three Floyds or De Struise have ever - and likely will ever - put their respective names to. What I took away from this is that even two of the world's best breweries (joining forces, no less) are capable of misses every now and again. Spend your money on anything by these guys - just not this.

This IPA presented itself boldly with a robust amber or rich copper hue. The head was thick, off white and it laced well.

The scent was primarily caramel malt with some earthy hop and pine. I do catch a grain and cracker scent.

The taste is more malt-centric with the caramel, grain and roast coming out first. The piney hop flavors expose themselves nearer the end of the sip. Not overly complex it's a smooth easy ride with little after taste.

My expectations were high on this but it simply did not live up to them. The hops don't jump out, or create enough diversity to set it apart, but it's still a pretty decent ale.

Even with a gentle pour, a massive thick and creamy eggshell head nearly overflows my glass, which had about 9 oz. to spare with just the liquid in it. The beer itself is a dark and faded ruby color that does not allow much light to pass through.

The aroma is inviting and complex. Both the malt and the hop aromas require some focus to separate them. Toffee and bready malt work with the spices from the Belgian yeast, the dark fruits, and the tropical hoppiness. It is not an overwhelmingly bitter aroma, despite being listed at 288 IBU.

The flavor has a nice amount of sweetness all the way through. Toffee, toasted bread, cherries, red apples, and white grape all contribute to a nice sweet character. A bit of Belgian yeast spice precedes some mango, apricot, pineapple, and grapefruit hoppiness. The finish is lightly bitter. It seems like the bitterness has faded a bit with the age of the bottle, but it has definitely reached a nice balance of flavors right now.

This beer, like pretty much everything I have had from Struise, and to a slightly lesser extent Three Floyds, feels incredible on my palate. Ultimately smooth and creamy, the carbonation mellowed out a bit from what I was expecting from the appearance. It is a bit sticky on the lips, with a little bit of hop residue.

This is darker in color and has more dark fruit flavors than I would have expected out of a Belgian IPA, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.